So what is it that some succeed and others fail?

tomteboda · August 2016

VanetteMcG · August 2016

Making a decision and sticking to it.

corbinskiii · August 2016

Consistency. Accountability. Endurance. Patience. Accuracy. A real commitment to change. I woke up one day at 324 pounds scared that I was losing the battle and decided I was going to lose the weight and I never looked back. I recently hit my goal weight, it took 2.5 years and I've lost 173 pounds and it feels amazing.

coachsaralee · August 2016

For me it was first finding a program that worked for me... something I could live with long term. If you starve yourself down, you won't be able to maintain it. It's about getting strong and healthy and making a lifestyle change. I started hanging out with like minded people either in process or having reached their goals. Accountability and group support helps. I set goals for myself. At first it was weight... then body fat %... now fitness and body fat %. A goal with a deadline is most powerful. I'm currently training for a competition at the end of September.

Find out your "why" and think about it every day... and never quit!

gothchiq · August 2016

I no longer have a choice unless I want to become full blown diabetic. That pretty much cemented it for me.

Jecka987 · August 2016

This post reminded me of one of my favourite quotes which is "Being strong feels exactly the same as being weak, the only difference is you don't quit". I think this helped me find my motivation and commitment to keep going. When I realized nothing was coming to save me, it wasn't suddenly going to be easy one day. It was always going to be like this, but the results would be different based on just not stopping.

DebBahr · August 2016

I finally decided I was worth it. I stopped making excuses and faced the reality that I was 50 lbs overweight. I looked bad and felt bad and had no one to blame but myself. I saw older people and the horrible shape they were in with preventable diseases and decided that I would do whatever I could to change my lifestyle. It's been 11 months and I've met my goal. I get up at 5:15 and go to the gym before work. I eat healthy most of the time and I watch my portion sizes. I have a husband who works graveyard, two kids, a job, and my mom and mother-in-law are both elderly and need help. It is hard but it is worth it. I love how I feel and I can buy so many cute clothes. If I can do it, anybody can.

jebr76 · August 2016

Still on my journey (46 pounds down) but I have made weight loss my #1 priority. I think about it as soon as I wake up, and step on the scale. I think about it (and talk about it) all the time. If my family goes to do something, my first thought is how do I pack/plan/strategize my meal choices. As soon as my kids are in bed I'm packing my lunch for the next day and packing my gym bag. I've blocked out an hour on my calendar every day so people can't send meeting invites during my workout time. Going to a work HH, I look up foods before I go and decide on my menu plan. That said - this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. I haven't denied myself anything, I'm just better informed on what my choices mean - and much happier for it.

Nyusha21 · August 2016

I realised that I was almost 25 now and still fat. Do I feel like a whiny person who makes great plans but sees none through? Do I feel like a slave to poor eating habits? No. But I sure act like one. So I stopped.

For me it was realising I was not acting in accordance to my self-image. And that I had zero reason to do so. Sometimes we're all just stuck in our habits, reassessment is important here. Do I live the way I wish to live?

ole496 · August 2016

I think you have to get back on that wagon after you fall off. I've seen the bottom of the wagon more than I've seen the top but that never stops me. I don't quit but I do make mistakes and fail. I have always liked this quote:

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. Thomas A. Edison

Sereknitty · August 2016

I didn't loose so much as others here. In fact I was within my (upper) BMI range before the loss and slowly climbing more upwards. However, I felt deeply, deeply unhappy with my body. I complained a lot. One day, I was again upset about it and my bf told me that they only one who can change this is me. Of course I knew this but somehow at that moment it clicked for me. He was right, I was the only one who could do something about it.

I started exercising pretty much the day after that. I didn't have a weight goal in mind but I continued until I felt confident and happy which seems to be around a BMI of 20. In fact, this is fairly easy to maintain and while I stopped some excercising I still go running and are generally much more active nowadays than I was 4 years ago. I am maintaining for ~2 years.

So I guess for me it was being unhappy enough and the realization that only I can change it. I don't ever want to go bad to feeling like I did before and that is enough motivation for me to keep going

toe1226 · August 2016

The thing that has helped me the most is liking me NOW, liking the me before I get to my goal, not just liking the goal me in my head, and not liking the current me. Whenever I was unsuccessful, it was because when I had a hiccup, it made me feel like a failure. Now, if I have a hiccup, it doesn't matter, because I really like who I am today, I liked who I was ten pounds ago, I'll like who I am if I make any changes in the future. I focused on activities that made me feel good about myself (not just exercise but music, painting, friendships) and that really helped.

goldthistime · August 2016

ole496 wrote: »

I think you have to get back on that wagon after you fall off. I've seen the bottom of the wagon more than I've seen the top but that never stops me. I don't quit but I do make mistakes and fail. I have always liked this quote:

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. Thomas A. Edison

This.

I'm thinking about toe1226's comment above too. I'm not sure if it's best said that I like myself more (which is true) or just that I'm a lot less anxious about the process.

Ex-smokers are said to have finally quit after their 14th attempt (on average obviously). We don't have the luxury of abstaining from food completely. It's no wonder we keep faltering. Imagine if, instead of quitting completely, smokers were asked to cut back to one or two a day, keeping the temptation to overindulge ever present.

All this leniency and missteps on my part has added up to a very slow weight loss. Worth it if it means that I won't regain it all back again.

mababauta · August 2016

I was perfectly happy over weight. I know it sounds strange. I have a great family, great job, and live a good life. Then I started Brazilian Jiujitsu. I found out I picked it up pretty quick and enjoyed the workout. However, being in my 40s, I just didn't have enough in my gas tank to keep up with the 20 something guys. I would gas out during sparring sessions.

I figured that if I was going to keep up with the young guys, I needed to lose weight and get in better shape. That's pretty much the reason I started back. I love jiujitsu. I also love myself now.

socajam · August 2016

zyxst wrote: »

I decided I wanted more of a wardrobe than 1 pair of khaki jeans to wear for the next 40 years. I found the tools and did it. Having no one badgering me about losing weight helped immensely. I have a goat-like stubbornness when told repeatedly to do something I don't really want to do. When people left me be, I found my will to do it. Also, hearing from others on MFP that I didn't ruin everything by eating 2 dozen shortbread cookies.

Britney was a big motivator when my eating went "not good":

Thank you for this. I am also fed up of people badgering me about how much younger I look when not carrying around 40 extra pounds. So I am back again to get to where people are amazed at my age and not carrying around that extra weight, no decent clothes to wear, thighs rubbing, backside rolling all over the place etc.

12Sarah2015 · August 2016

For me, I wanted to get back to my wedding weight after a baby. I have now passed that goal and the aim is to be BMI of 22.

kenyainez · August 2016

Success is the will to keep going at the times you want to give up. When you can't do one more, you do three.

rldeclercq4 · August 2016

I had to wake up and realize that I had to do tho for me because I believed I was worth it. I realized to achieve why I want in life (wife, kids, travel, long life) wasn't going to happen as I slowly inched up to 400 lbs before I turned 30. I've tried losing weight before with moderate success but always backslid until I hit my heaviest of 367 this January. What worked for me was being logical about this and making a plan. This included admitting to myself that I had a weight problem. So I started seeing a doctor for weight management. Started a regular exercise regimen. Brought in family and friends for support and accountability and started to educate myself on food. (Yes, specific actions such as buying a food scale, a body scale, and using MFP were instrumental in me executing on my plan). I read food labels, know serving sizes, record my food.

There are a ton of times where I eat more than I should, grab pizza for dinner, have a candy bar, etc., but that doesn't last long. I've lost 123 lbs since January. By sticking to my meal plan and exercise plan 95% of the time I've lost so much weight, clothing sizes, and gained a world of confidence. I now realistically see a family in my future, traveling the world, and being able to inspire others to make healthy changes.

TL;DR 1) If you're morbidly obese, start by admitting to yourself you have a problem that you need to fix and do it for yourself 2) Make a plan that includes medical oversight, diet changes, regular exercise. 3) build a network of support and accountability. 4) have way more good days than bad and you will find success.

Nikion901 · August 2016

Winners never quit, and quiters never win.

I am not a quitter. I am a successful person. Not in everything, not all at one. It took me 10 years or trying to give up cigarette smoking 30 years ago. It's taken me a decade to get my eating disorder figured out and under control ... so this is the year that I make a big move toward my goal on that topic. Better at age 71 than I was at age 65.

So what is it that some succeed and others fail?

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